Erishum I or Erišum II, the son and successor of Naram-Sin, was the king of the city-state

Assur Aššur (; AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; ''Āšūr''; ''Aθur'', ''Āšūr''; ', ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Midd ...

from 1828/1818 BC to 1809 BC. Like his predecessors, he bore the titles “Išši’ak Aššur” (Steward of Assur) and “ ensí”. The length of Erishum II's reign is uncertain, however; based on various excavated "

limmu : In the history of Assyria, Limmu was an Assyrian eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic'' ...

" (eponym) lists, Naram-Sin's and Erishum II's reigns had a combined length of 64 years.

Reign and Shamshi adad

The

Amorites The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Eg ...

had in the centuries prior overrun the kingdoms of

Lower Mesopotamia Lower Mesopotamia is a historical region of Mesopotamia. It is located in the alluvial plain of Iraq from the Hamrin Mountains to the Faw Peninsula near the Persian Gulf. In the Middle Ages it was also known as the '' Sawad'' and al-Jazira al-s ...

and the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

between, but had hitherto been repelled by the Assyrian kings. However, Erishum II was to be the last king of the dynasty of Puzur-Ashur I (founded c. 2025 BC) as he was deposed and the throne of Assyria was usurped by

Shamshi-Adad I Shamshi-Adad (; Amorite: ''Shamshi-Addu''), ruled 1813–1776 BC, was an Amorite warlord and conqueror who had conquered lands across much of Syria, Anatolia, and Upper Mesopotamia.Some of the Mari letters addressed to Shamsi-Adad by his son ca ...

during the expansion of the Amorite tribes from the Khabur River delta in the north-eastern Levant. Although regarded as an Amorite by later Assyrian tradition, Shamshi-Adad I's descent is suggested to be from the same line as the legendary native Assyrian ruler Ushpia within the Assyrian King List, possibly added to the list in order to legitimize his rule. Shamshi-Adad I had inherited the throne in

Terqa Terqa is an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately from the modern border with Iraq and north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had b ...

from his father Ila-kabkabu. The Assyrian King List records that Shamshi-Adad I, “went away to

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

in the time of Naram-Sin” while Naram-Sin of

Eshnunna Eshnunna (also Esnunak) (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althou ...

had been attacking

Ekallatum Ekallatum ( Akkadian: 𒌷𒂍𒃲𒈨𒌍, URUE2.GAL.MEŠ, Ekallātum, "the Palaces") was an ancient Amorite city-state and kingdom in upper Mesopotamia. Ekallatum, whose name means "the palaces," became the capital of an Amorite dynasty related ...

. Shamshi-Adad I had not returned until he had taken Ekallatum, after which he had paused for three years and then had overthrown Erishum II. The Mari Eponym Chronicle, which resumes the listing until the seizure of Ekallatum by Shamshi-Adad I, provides no clue as to when the succession of Erishum II had taken place. As the reign of Erishum II was prematurely ended by the conquests of Shamshi-Adad I, it is likely that Naram-Sin's reign was the greater part of the period, additionally; the broken figure on the Nassouhi King List ends on four, so perhaps Naram-Sin reigned 44 or 54 years (c. 1872 BC onward,

middle chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erishum 02 19th-century BC Assyrian kings